How much extra rope do you need for a decent droop?

Decking rope is a simple yet effective way to decorate your garden. But if you’re going to all the trouble of installing some decking rope, you want to make sure it’s going to look good. And that means getting your measurements right.

One hurdle many people stumble at is: how much rope do I need to order? It sounds like a simple question, but if you’re allowing for some droop in your rope, how much extra do you need to add?

Please bear in mind that the advice we’re about to offer relates specifically to our hardy hemp decking rope. A lot of our tips will apply to other ropes too, but figures and calculations may vary slightly. For example, if you’re using a natural rope you’ll need to add a lot more droop as it will shrink when it gets wet.

HARDY HEMP

TIPS AND TRICKS

More often than not, people over-estimate how much extra rope they’ll need. In many cases, you’ll only actually need to add a few centimetres.

As a general rule, the shorter the length of rope, the more you’ll need to add to your length to allow enough for a substantial drape. With longer lengths, they will naturally sag under their own weight, so you don’t need to add so much on.

Luckily, here at ropelocker we are experts in working out droop. In fact, we’ve even made a lovely graph for you.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR DROOP

All you need to do is measure the distance between your garden posts in centimetres (in a straight line). Then find this measurement on the x axis of our graph. Travel up the graph until you hit the green line. Once you hit the green line, travel across to see where you are level with on the y axis. The number of the y axis will tell you how much rope you need to order in (approximately) in centimetres.

Here’s an example: If the gap between our posts is 100cm, we can see that 100 along the bottom of our graph corresponds with 110 down the side. So, this means you need to order 110cm of rope in order to allow for droop in you rope. Only 10cm difference – not much at all!

PLEASE NOTE: We work out our droop so that it has a depth (at its lowest point) of around 20cm. If you want a shallower droop, bear this mind when you use our graph.

Because the differences can be so tiny, this graph is in centimetres. But remember when you order your rope on our website that we work in metres. So for example, if you have worked out you need 186cm of rope, you need to order 1.86m.

You can place your order by clicking here!

If you’re ordering one length of rope but it’s travelling across multiple posts (meaning it will have a number of droops along it) work out each droop individually and then add them together at the end.

PRACTICAL WAYS TO WORK OUT DROOP

If you’re not keen on using graphs, don’t worry. We’ve got some more advice to offer you.

If you’re struggling to work out in your head how much rope you need, you’ll find it much easier if you grab a piece of string and use that to help you work out your length. Lay a piece of string across your decking posts. When you’re happy with how it looks, lay it out straight and measure its length. Although your decking rope will have much more weight than a piece of string (and therefore sag more) this is a pretty good guideline for how much rope you need to order.

If you’re struggling to visualise what your decking rope is going to look like, we can also mail you a small sample of our ropes to look at. Just send us a message and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

When it comes to droop, remember that this isn’t an exact science. Some people like the look of deep waves, others want a much more shallow droop. So take the time to work out what is best for you. It might seem like a hassle, but it will be much more annoying when you realise you haven’t ordered the right amount and have to redo everything!

If you aren’t confident with your workings out, order a little bit extra to give yourself some leeway. After all, this can always be cut off if you’ve got too much rope, and if you need some advice on how to cut your decking rope, feel free to contact us.

Another key thing to remember: in general, ropes often shrink over time. Our hardy hemp decking rope is no exception. Our decking rope comes into our warehouse in tight coils, and once we open the coil up and start using the rope, it can relax a little and does sometimes change slightly in size. We are not talking about any dramatic changes, but it is worth knowing this if you’re calculating mega-precise measurements. Maybe add on a cm (or round up) to give yourself a bit of leeway if your rope does shrink.

Hardy hemp does have a small amount of stretch to it though, so any shrinkage can almost always be counteracted simply by giving your rope a bit of a tug. Twisting the rope can also alter its length slightly, as this will affect how tightly/loosely bunched the rope’s strands are. So all in all, if your ropes aren’t millimetre perfect, there are plenty of ways to combat this.

If you’d like to find out more about our decking rope options, take a look at our blog post here.

If you have any more queries, feel free to get in touch.